Bilawal to contest 2018 election from Punjab

LAHORE: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto would contest 2018 election from Punjab, Pakistan Today learnt on Tuesday.

According to sources, Bilawal gave serious thought to the offer and suggestion made by visiting PPP office-bearers and leaders from Punjab who called on PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari at the Bilawal House in Karachi the other day.

The PPP leaders included Central Punjab President Qamar Zaman Kaira, Secretary General Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmed and Nadeem Afzal Chan.

PPP Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) President Humayun Khan, Secretary General Faisal Karim Kundi and Karachi Division President MPA Saeed Ghani were also present in the meeting. The PPP KP office-bearers and leaders also asked Bilawal to contest election from their province but Bilawal did not give serious thought to the proposal.

During the meeting, they discussed the reorganisation process and holding of public meetings by the chairman in connection with the mass contact campaign in Punjab and KP ahead of general elections.

PPP Central Punjab Secretary General Chaudhry Manzoor said Bilawal Bhutto Zardari gave serious thought to their proposal and directed for detailed discussion over the suggestion.

“We offered Bilwal to contest election from Punjab and he replied in affirmative. The final decision in this regard will be taken after reviewing situation in different constituencies of Punjab. The consultation process in this respect has been started,” Chaudhry Manzoor said.

He made it clear that the delegation asked Bilawal to contest election from Central Punjab while South Punjab leadership and office-bearers also asked Bilawal to contest election from their area.

Chaudhry Manzoor said that PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto contested election from Lahore in 1970 and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto also contested election from Lahore in 1988.

“If Bilawal contests election from Punjab, it will be an historic event in the political history of Pakistan,” he added.

PPP South Punjab Information Secretary Shaukat Basra said that the office-bearers from South Punjab were also visiting Karachi. He said they also wished that Bilawal Bhutto Zardari would contest election from South Punjab. He further said that the final decision would be taken by the PPP leadership.

Pakistan Today learnt that former prime minister and PPP Central leader Yousaf Raza Gillani also held a meeting with Bilawal Bhutto and discussed fielding the party chairman from Multan or Muzaffargarh. Muzaffargarh district was called mini-Larkana during the tenure of Yousaf Raza Gillani as five out of six MNAs from Muzaffargarh belonged to PPP.

Senior PPP Punjab leader Mian Manzoor Ahmed Wattoo also called Bilawal Bhutto Zardari at Bilawal House on Tuesday and discussed the political situation in his constituency. According to the sources, he too asked Bilawal to contest election from his constituency.

Earlier, there were confirmed reports that Bilawal Bhutto Zardari would contest the 2018 election on his mother Benazir Bhutto’s NA-207 (Larkana-IV) seat.

Benazir Bhutto had become Pakistan’s and the Islamic world’s first female prime minister after returning to parliament by securing the National Assembly constituency seat from Larkana.

The PPP hoped that Bilawal would become the youngest prime minister of Pakistan after winning the 2018 election.